Below-zero temperatures in Germany this week led to disruption across the nation's supply chain network, with the north, east and southeast particularly affected.

Although snowfall was heavier in the south, northern and eastern regions experienced icy conditions that created operational constraints.

Port terminals in the north experienced long queues of trucks, and time windows at the CTA and CTB container terminals in Hamburg port were shortened in response.

According to local operators, clearance delays reached up to eight hours at CTA and up to four hours at CTB. Low temperatures are forecast for the rest of this week, and current transport conditions are expected to remain.

Cargo rail restrictions

The western ports, namely Rotterdam, Antwerp and Zeebrugge, remain unaffected at that point. However, the weather situation contributed to a growing backlog, extending the duration containers remained in port.

Local and regional rail networks report incidents of frozen overhead lines and switches, with the Nuremberg area heavily impacted by snow.

Rail manoeuvring restrictions prevented import trains from leaving the ports of Hamburg and Bremerhaven on 26 January and forced export trains to wait for access.

Some export trains from Nuremberg were already cancelled, and further delays or cancelled rotations were expected due to lost capacity.

Extended delays were caused by a rail break on the Hanover–Göttingen high‑speed line, limiting traffic to a single track between Diekholz and Sorsum.

For the latest port and vessel statuses or situation updates, please refer to the seaexplorer alert map.